Priti Patel advised on tackling immigration by Saunders
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Home Office statistics indicate 1,341 people crossed the Dover Strait last month in 46 boats. The amount compares to 223 people making the treacherous journey in 15 boats in January 2021.
The findings will spark fresh fears Britain is set for another record breaking year of crossings in 2022.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is under increasing pressure to get on top of the crisis from backbench colleagues.
Tories MPs have told Express.co.uk the number of crossings remains one of the issues they receive the most letters from constituents about.
Last year Ms Patel gave France an extra £54million to increase patrols and detection equipment to stop the number of crossings.
In January French authorities prevented 945 migrants from arriving in the UK via the dangerous route.
However, some MPs believe Emmanuel Macron’s administration is still failing to do enough on the matter.
Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover and Deal, told The Times: “The French have taken tens of millions of pounds of British taxpayers’ hard-earned money and people will rightly ask what on earth is being done with it. Enough is enough.
“They need to honour their international obligations to save lives and stop this brazen criminality going unchecked.”
While curbing the number of crossings is a priority issue for many voters, there are also concerns there will be an increase in deaths by drowning if the figure is not reduced.
In November last year 27 people drowned after their boat capsized while trying to make it from Calais to England.
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The UK and France pledged to work together after the tragedy to ensure there were not more deaths.
Tom Pursglove, minister for tackling illegal migration, said: “People fleeing persecution should seek safety in the first safe country they reach and not risk their lives paying criminal gangs to cross the Channel.
“This Government is reforming our approach to illegal entry to the UK and asylum by making the tough decisions to end the overt exploitation of our laws and its impact on UK taxpayers.
“The Nationality and Borders Bill will make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introduce life sentences for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country.
“It will also strengthen the powers of Border Force to stop and redirect vessels, while introducing new powers to remove asylum seekers to have their claims processed outside the UK.”
Later this month operation control of stopping illegal crossings is due to be handed over to the Ministry of Defence.
After Border Force failed to reduce the number of arrivals, the Navy will be tasked with managing the situation.
The change also means monthly figures on crossings will stop being published by the Home Office.
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